Mushroom poison killer jailed for life

THE woman who murdered three people after serving them a beef wellington laced with death cap mushrooms was yesterday sentenced to life behind bars.

- BY PAIGE INGRAM

Mother-of-two Erin Patterson, 50, was jailed after an earlier trial in July found her guilty following six days of deliberation by the jury.

The court in Victoria, Australia, heard that she had invited her estranged husband's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, both 70, and Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and her husband Ian, now 70, for lunch at her home in Leongatha on July 29, 2023.

She then served up the lethal pastry dish with potatoes and green beans.

Patterson was found guilty of murdering Don, Gail and Heather, who suffered agonising deaths in hospital.

She was also convicted of attempting to murder Ian, who needed a liver transplant to survive.